Texting driver jailed for killing woman in crash

A driver with cocaine in his system had been texting his girlfriend seconds before crashing into a woman on her way home from work.

Ryanair cabin crew member Cinzia Ceravolo, 36, died from injuries suffered in the crash near Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The Italian was returning home to Liverpool after two days on shift.

Kieran Cooney admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years.

The 31-year-old from Speke had also previously pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to driving while the proportion of cocaine in his system was over the limit.

Cooney had been receiving text messages from his girlfriend, and had replied to one message seven seconds before he hit Ms Ceravolo as she crossed the road near midnight on 22 August 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Ms Ceravolo was taken to University Hospital Aintree and then transferred to Walton Neurological Centre, but was unresponsive and treatment was withdrawn. She died four days after the crash.

Cooney had been to watch a football match and was driving to his girlfriend's house when he crashed his Ford Focus on Hale Road.

He remained at the scene as members of the public tried to give Ms Ceravolo first aid.

He was arrested after testing negative for alcohol but positive for cocaine.

Ms Ceravolo's mother Marisa said Cooney "did not only destroy Cinzia's life but that of a whole family, and many friends and relatives mourn her because she was a special human being".

She added that her daughter was "a generous woman who gave life to three English boys with her donated organs".

Senior crown prosecutor Joshua Sanderson-Kirk said: "A number of members of the public stopped at the scene and tried to help Ms Ceravolo, they then became witnesses and helped us to present the case against Mr Cooney. I'd like to thank them for their assistance.

"This case serves as a reminder that the use of a mobile phone when driving and the taking of drugs can have tragic consequences."

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